Need advice and access to resources to better manage your forestland? Small forest landowners across the state turn to Washington State Department of Natural Resources for their on-site forest management consultation. The Small Forest Landowner Office would like to introduce two highly experienced professionals to its Forest Stewardship Program staff.
Boyd Norton is a long-time forester with DNR and is currently the new Northwest Washington Landowner Assistance Forester. Boyd grew up in the Puyallup valley, and graduated from Green River Community College with an Associates in Applied Sciences degree in Forest Technology in 1975. After graduation Boyd worked as a temporary Forest Technician 1 and Fire Warden for DNR in Enumclaw. He then spent several years with St. Regis Paper Company at their King Creek Tree Farm just outside of Orting, before being hired full-time to DNR as an assistant unit forester in the Naselle unit. In his 36 years with the DNR, Boyd has worked in timber management and silvicultural programs, forest practices, fire suppression and prevention.
Boyd has been a part of the transformation of the Service Forestry, Farm Forestry and Forest Stewardship Program. Boyd was one of the original Timber, Fish, and Wildlife forest practices foresters. As one of the original forest stewardship foresters, he co-lead the first Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Class in Northwest Region. He also was an original member of the Small Forest Landowner Office, assisting with development of the Forestry Riparian Easement Program and the Family Forest Fish Passage Program. When funding for the Small Forest Landowner Office was reduced, he became the Northwest Region Forest Practices Program Coordinator. He also has 32 years of fire suppression experience, is certified as a Logistics Section Chief on fires, and has co-lead fire suppression training at the state and national level.
Boyd has been married for 36 years, has two grown daughters and four grandchildren. He spends his spare time with family, and working on carpentry projects.
Contact Information: Email: boyd.norton@dnr.wa.gov , Phone: 360-854-2839
Ken Bevis is the new Stewardship Wildlife Biologist for DNR’s Small Forest Landowner office. He replaces Jim Bottorff who held the position for well over a decade. Ken is a lifelong naturalist, hiker, fisherman, skier, and avid hunter. He attributes his fascination with wild creatures and places to playing in the woods when he was young near his home in Virginia. He attended Virginia Tech from 1975-79 and received a BS in Forestry and Wildlife, with additional studies in Communication. He worked in Colorado for 5 years for the U.S. Forest Service as a forestry technician, performing timber stand inventory and trail maintenance. He attended Colorado State University and earned his Teaching Certificate credentials in 1989, and moved to Washington state to participate in a field wildlife study on northern spotted owls. Once in Washington, he stayed, and has lived on the east side of the Cascades working on forest, fish and wildlife issues since 1986. He began working for the U.S. Forest Service, Wenatchee National Forest, on wildlife surveys and timber sale support in 1987, then he changed paths and entered graduate school.
Ken earned an MS in Biology, with a study on cavity nesting birds from Central WA University in Ellensburg. After completing graduate school, Bevis was hired by the Yakama Indian Nation as a Wildlife Biologist in support of the timber management program on the one million acre Yakama Reservation. In this work he supervised up to 18 tribal technicians and participated in Interdisciplinary Planning Teams on reservation timber sales. Ken then moved to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a Habitat Biologist, where for 10 years he served as the Timber Fish and Wildlife Biologist, and then Forest and Fish Biologist, for Yakima and Kittitas Counties. Here he worked closely with DNR forest practices foresters and various forest landowners on issues related to timber harvests. These issues included stream buffers, northern spotted owls, and particularly near and dear to his heart, wildlife trees. He also assisted DNR and the Washington Contract Loggers Association with various trainings over these years. He moved from forest wildlife to fish issues during the past five years, representing WDFW in salmon recovery efforts in N. Central WA as the “Watershed Steward”. This work involved coordinating with many interests to help initiate restoration projects on a number of the rivers on the eastside. Ken is now the Stewardship Wildlife Biologist for DNR’s Small Forest Landowner office, with statewide responsibilities. He will be helping landowners to develop wildlife habitat for their Forest Stewardship plans and will also provide technical assistance for other wildlife related issues.
Ken is also a photographer and a singer-songwriter who specializes in songs about wild places and animals. He is married to the talented photographer, Teri Pieper. The job of Stewardship Wildlife Biologist is a natural fit for Bevis, who looks forward to meeting and working with all of our great Stewardship staff and landowners.
Contact Information: Email: ken.bevis@dnr.wa.gov , Phone: 360-489-4802
To request more information from one of our Landowner Assistance Foresters click on the bar below.
Do you have roads with stream crossings on your forestland?
Who will care for your farm or forest when you’re gone? Will it be a family legacy or a family squabble? Will it be kept intact and protected, or will it be divided up and sold off in pieces? What is the long-term future that you want for your property? We will explore these questions and others in this succession planning workshop, which will feature the award-winning Ties to the Land curriculum.
